


So You Accidentally Summoned A Demon

by pinkevilbob



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Demon Summoning, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-09-22 20:30:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17066558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkevilbob/pseuds/pinkevilbob
Summary: Jester went from your average run of the mill art student to a demon summoner in a matter of minutes. Now if she could just teach her demon to use a smart phone.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Kind of started this one on a whim and was surprised by how much I liked working on this one. I hope you guys like it to.

Caleb had heard all sorts of stories about summonings. How they burned. How they trapped. How they were torture. So, he was very confused by the slight tickle sensation he felt when he was summoned for the first time. 

The human realm was also nothing at all like what he had expected. He was told of dimly lit rooms, occult symbols, and that the color red was very popular now. Instead he was in a bright room, the walls a bright sunny yellow and it smelled like lavender. Caleb looked around for the summoning circle, but at first he saw nothing. Then he noticed the painting on the wall. It was abstract all sorts of lines and circles in all sorts of cheery colors, but when he touched one, it glowed and so did many of the other lines revealing the summoning circle. Humans - they put so much time into making things more complicated than they need to be. But, the oddest part was that there was no containment charm to it. Everyone knows that if you summon a demon you have to trap it immediately.

“Who are you?” a voice asked behind him. Caleb turned to see a young woman with messy, blue hair and paint splattered clothes. She was probably cute by modern human standards. Probably. Once she was in the room, he could sense that she was his summoner. “Are you like one of Beau’s friends? Cause, she’s not home right now.”

Caleb drew himself to his full height, which admittedly wasn’t impressive by demon or even human standards. “I am a being of such darkness you can never comprehend and will never be able to banish from your nightmares.”

“Oh, you’re one of Molly’s friends,” she said like everything made sense now. “Yeah, he couch surfs here sometimes, but I think he’s at Fjord’s place at the moment.”

Caleb huffed out a sigh. He kept forgetting how human he looked if he didn’t make an effort. Letting out a low growl, Caleb shifted himself into what he knew he was. Teeth lengthen, claws sharpened, his skin blackened and crackled leaving little lines of glowing orange. His hair flowed like lava and two small black horns jutted out of it. The only thing that remained the same were his eyes. They would always remain blue no matter what he did. “Now do you know what you are dealing with?” The voice needed work; Caleb knew that, but he was working on ways to make it sound more fearsome.

The young woman collapsed on her knees, her eyes wide and fearful. “What are you? A demon?” Caleb nodded with a sneer(or he hoped it was a sneer. He heard that sneers worked very well on humans). “What are you doing here?”

“You summoned me here,” Caleb said. 

“I what?”

Caleb smiled at her in what he thought was a very intimidating manner. “You, summoned, me.” He waved at the summoning circle. “I’ve never seen one quite like this before though.”

“That’s just a painting,” she squeaked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just playing with lines and stuff.”

“What?” Caleb’s concentration broke and he went back to his typical human looking form. “What do you mean this is just a painting? You have everything you need to summon me right here: the circle, the blood, everything!”

The young woman bit her lip and looked away. “I did accidentally nick myself while working on it. Maybe that’s where the blood came from?”

“It’s possible.” Caleb’s first summoning and it was on accident. He was never going to live this down. “That explains why you don’t have a containment charm.”

She scurried back. “How do I contain a demon then?”

“Humans often use salt.”

“Right.” The young woman started to leave and then stopped herself. “You wait right here.” Then she left.

Caleb stared after her. Just who in their right mind would think that a demon would just listen to them? But, it wasn’t like he wanted to eat her or anything. He never had a taste for flesh.

The young woman came back with a salt shaker and a plate of pastries. She salt the floor around Caleb and formed a circle. “There! So, um, what happens now?”

“Now?”

“Yeah, so I’ve accidentally summoned you, now what?” she asked. “Do you eat my soul? Or like my enemies’ souls? Or do you just eat stuff like donuts?”

Caleb rolled his eyes. “I do not eat souls. But, if you have any bear claws, I do eat those.”

The young woman set the pastries right outside of the salt. “So how do I unsummon you? Do I need to call an exorcist?”

Caleb snorted. “Exorcists only work in fiction. When a demon is summoned, it is for a certain task or duty,” Caleb said. “Once that task is completed, I can go home.”

“So, I just have to have you do something? Like curse my mortal foe or something?”

Caleb stared at her. “Do you have any enemies that I should be aware of?”

The young woman shook her head. “No, why?”

“Nevermind.” Caleb reached past the salt and grabbed a bear claw. The young woman stared at him shocked. “I only said that humans use salt. I didn’t say that it works.”

She pouted for a moment and then giggled. “Okay, you got me. So what do you do? What have I summoned you for? Vengeance?”

“I‘m not a revenge demon. Really, is the death of your enemies all you think about? I am a knowledge demon,” Caleb explained. “I’m the one people come to for information. Information that they cannot get any other way.” It was rare for knowledge demons to be summoned. Usually seances or some communication ritual were used for getting favors from Caleb. “So just ask me a question and I’ll be on my way.”

Caleb expected the young woman to pause and think. Instead she leaned forward and blurted out, “I want you to help me find my dad!” And with that the summoning was sealed.

 

*********

Jester stared at the demon expectantly. “So where is he?”

“You can’t just ask where your dad is and expect me to know instantly,” the demon said. It was weird to know that he was a demon when he looked more like a mix between a professor and a hobo. If he shaved, Jester had a feeling that he might be handsome, but she wasn’t sure. “I’m going to need information. Mainly your name, though his name would be useful too.”

“I’m Jester Lavorre and Mom said my dad’s name is Babenon.”

The demon’s eyes glowed for a moment. “He’s still alive. I’ll need a map.”

“A map? Why would a demon need a map?” Jester asked.

“To show you where your father is,” the demon said exasperatedly. 

Jester had to admit that the demon had a point. “Here.” She passed the demon her cell phone.

The demon stared at it. “I asked for a map.”

“Oh, right.” Jester pulled up Google Maps on her phone. “There you go.”

The demon frowned at the phone. “Again, what I need is a map.”

“It is map. It’s just zoomed in.” Jester placed her fingers on the phone and pinched them together to zoom out.

“What is this thing?” the demon asked poking at it. He managed to accidentally close the app.

Jester sighed. “My cell phone. It’s got everything you need: texting, facebook, internet and, most importantly, maps.”

“None of those are real things and that’s not a map,” the demon said.

“Look let me show you.” Jester attempted to show the demon how to use her phone for the next ten minutes, but all she accomplished was giving herself a headache and a new gratitude for how quickly her mom picked up technology.

The demon crossed his arms at glared at the phone. “They didn’t have anything like that the last time I was in this realm.”

“I’ll go get a physical map,” Jester said no longer wanting to fight him. “But first I need to get you a babysitter. Or a demonsitter.”

“I could just go with you,” the demon said. “I blend in very well with humans.”

Jester bit her lip with thought. It would be easier than trying to explain to her friends that she accidentally summons a demon. But who knew if he could be trusted. “I’m just going to the gas station. I think they still sell maps there. Pretty boring.”

The demon looked down at his feet and then at her. “Please?” How a demon managed to give such pleading puppy dog eyes she had no idea.

“Do you promise to behave super good?”

“Yes,” the demon said.

Jester gave it some thought. “Well, since you promised, ok! But you have to tell me your name first.”

“Caleb Widogast at your service.” The demon did a fancy bow and everything.

“Nice to meet you, Caleb.” Jester extended her hand.

Caleb shook his head. “Never shake hands with a demon. You never know just what you’ve agreed to.”

“Oh, okay,” Jester said softly. “Um, Caleb? What have I agreed to so far?”

“By summoning me? Fifty years of torture, but that’s getting off pretty easy.”

Jester’s stomach sank. Maybe this was a worse idea than she’d realized.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been centuries since Caleb had last been in the human realm, and it was one of the few things he could not remember clearly. But he was fairly certain it was nothing like this. The human realm was loud and colorful and there were weird smells and machines everywhere. Caleb did not like it, but he was also pretty certain he did not hate it.

Jester insisted that he hold her hand after he nearly tripped on the curb. And holding her hand was nice. It should not have felt nice. Caleb was a demon. He didn’t do things like hold hands. Or wait patiently to cross the street. Or actually like the person who summoned him. She kept pointing out things to him and explaining what they were. “Oh, and that’s a meth house. They do illegal stuff there.” Sometimes it was informative, but other times all he learned was that he was summoned by a very strange person.

Caleb knew all about the human realm (as a knowledge demon, it was kind of his job), but having the actual context for it was a completely different story. Suddenly, everything and nothing made sense. The human realm was bigger and smaller than he had thought and it didn’t make sense.

“Here we are!” Jester declared in front of a particularly ugly building. “Right, so I don’t want you to get lost, so I’m going to need you to keep holding my hand, okay?”

Caleb sighed. It was demeaning for the demon to be treated like a child, but at the same time, he may have found Jester’s presence a little reassuring. “Okay.”

Inside the building was terrible. Demons could’ve learned a thing or two from it. The lighting was unnatural, he wouldn’t call the noise playing ‘music’, and in general it smelled like unhappiness. Jester wandered the aisles trying to find where the maps were. “You know, nobody uses real maps anymore. We just use our cellphones,” she said pointedly.

“I’ll make note of that.” 

Soon, they found the maps. “Sooo, do you need like a state map? A country map? World map?”

“Regional,” Caleb said. He could feel that Babenon was far, but not a full country away. 

Jester selected a map and nodded pleased to herself. “Oh, do you want to pick out a candy before you go?”

“A what?”

“A candy. You know like a chocolate bar or something fruity or gum. You can get whatever you want.” Jester was already trying to choose what she wanted.

Caleb frowned. “We don’t have candy in the demon realms.”

“You’ve never had candy?! Never had anything sweet?!”

“I’ve had honey cakes,” Caleb said a little offended.

Jester patted his hand. “That doesn’t count. I’ll get you candy.” 

They ended up getting one map and an arm full of candy. “You really didn’t have to get all that. I just needed the map,” Caleb said as they went back to Jester’s home.

She shrugged. “You’re doing me a favor.”

“At the cost of decades of torture once you die.”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t do something nice for you.” Jester moved the bag of candy to her right hand and offered him her left hand. “Come on, I don’t want you to trip again.”

Caleb rolled his eyes. “I’ve been a dark being of hate and malice for centuries. I don’t need to hold hands to cross the street.” Jester pouted at him with big eyes. “Fine,” he said with a huff taking her hand. Out of all the creatures he had ever had the misfortune to encounter, she had to be the most dangerous. She actually made him feel.

***************  
Jester spread the map out on the counter using the candy to weigh it down. Caleb nibbled on a licorice rope as she straightened it out. “There! So why can’t you just give me an address?”

“Because that’s not how I work,” he said analyzing the map. “I know locations by location not by human names. You’re lucky that maps work with me. I’d hate to have to bring you there myself.”

Jester stuck her tongue out at him. “So how does this work?”

“I point out the location and go home,” Caleb said. 

“Just like that?” It felt a little anticlimactic to Jester.

Caleb nodded. “Just like that.”

“Oh, then here!” She gathered up the candy, put it in a bag, and handed it to Caleb. “You can take it with you!”

Caleb frowned at the bag. “You really don’t have to.”

“But I want you to have it.”

“It’s not like I can keep it.”

Jester tilted her head confused. “You can’t?”

“I’m a low ranking demon in case you didn’t notice,” Caleb said.

“There’s ranks?”

Caleb put his head in his hands. “I forgot you know nothing. Nevermind. Let’s get this over with.” His eyes glowed and he stretched out a hand over the map. Despite refusing the rest of the candy, he still kept the licorice rope. A faintly glowing red line came out of Caleb’s palm and scurried around the map before settling on Zadash. “West side,” Caleb said, but he didn’t sound quite like himself. His voice was softer and more confident at the same time and his Zemnian accent was much thicker. “The bar that goes by The Evening Nip. Tell the bartender ‘While I have no coin, I’d be willing to offer many gifts’. Speak to the Gentleman.” Jester wrote down everything he said quickly. The line and the glow in Caleb’s eyes disappeared and he sagged down.

“Are you okay?” Jester asked.

Caleb nodded. “Ja. Just a little tired.” He looked around the room. “I shouldn’t be here.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve fulfilled your request. I should be back in my realm already.” Caleb frowned. “Did I forget something?”

Jester bit her lip. She had no idea of how to help Caleb how to go home. “You can stay here if you’re really stuck, you know. We’re used to people crashing here all the time.”

Caleb laughed drily. “You are really something. You shouldn’t be offering to let strange demons, or strange anyone, stay in your domicile. Now, repeat what you asked me to do earlier.”

“Find my dad?” She was fairly certain that was close to what she said.

Caleb shook his head. “I need it verbatim. I need you to say the exact words.”

“I need you to find my dad? You have to find my dad.” Jester fished around. “I want you to help me find my dad? I gotta-”

“No, that last one,” Caleb interrupted. “That’s the one. If you didn’t include those two middle words, I’d be home already.”

Jester frowned. “Which two words?”

“‘Help me’. It wasn’t enough to tell you where he is. Now I have to escort you there and help you meet or rather find him.” Caleb groaned. “It’s going to taking days to get there.”

Jester looked up Zadash on her phone. “Not really. It’s more like five hours away.” It was going to be tricky since she didn’t have a driver’s license, but Molly did owe her.

“It’s over three hundred miles away. It’s going to take over two weeks to walk there,” Caleb said.

“That’s why we’re going to take a car.“ The question was whether she should let Molly know that Caleb was a demon. It felt like something that should be kept secret, but really, Molly has always lowkey wanted to meet a demon and who was Jester to stand in the way of his dreams? 

Caleb looked at her with the weirdest expression. “You expect me to believe that your cars can possibly cover that much terrain in half a day?”

“Well, yeah. I mean Molly speeds, so really it’s gonna be like four hours.”

Caleb looked like he was going to be sick. “How?” The next hour involved Jester looking up diagrams and explanations of internal combustion engines, and somehow they ended up on the wiki page for the uses of peanut oil. “There’s one more thing that I’ll need for this. Well, two things, but I can get the first myself.” He snapped his fingers and suddenly a cat appeared in his lap. “The second I will need your help with.”

Jester just stared at the cat. It looked like an average bengal, but there it was just curled up in a demon’s lap. “Oh, he’s precious! Is he a he? What’s his name? Does he want milk?”

“He’s a he. His name is Frumpkin, and cats are lactose intolerant, but since he’s an infernal hell beast he can have all the milk he wants,” Caleb said. “Now, about the other thing I need.” 

But Jester was already getting Frumpkin his milk. “Here you go, Frumpkin. Tasty, tasty 2% milk.” She set the saucer on the table in front of Caleb and Frumpkin. 

The cat looked up at Caleb for a moment and Caleb nodded down at him before Frumpkin began to drink the milk. “I need to call a friend.”

“Demons have friends?”

Caleb stared down at Frumpkin. “I’m not that pathetic. Of course demons have friends.”

Jester held up her hands. “I didn’t mean to insult you. I need to call a friend, too.”

“Can I call mine first? I just need a little bit of blood and some paint.”

“I just need my cell phone.” Jester pulled out her phone and was about to call Molly when she noticed Caleb staring at her. “Yes?”

“I need blood. Human blood.”

Jester’s stomach dropped. “What?! Why does it have to be human?”

“I’m not the one who developed the spells. I just use them,” Caleb said. “Only a pinprick of blood is needed.”

Jester steeled her nerve. “Okay, just a pinprick and you get the ugly paint.” She grabbed a knife from the kitchen and could barely look as she stabbed her pointer finger. Giving Caleb her crappiest brush and a tube of mustard yellow paint was much easier. “I’m going to make my call,” she said stepping out of the room. 

Molly answered the phone after the third ring. “Molly! Molly! It’s an emergency! Well, not a life or death emergency, but I really need help and you’re the only one I can turn to.”

“Flattery will certainly get you everywhere,” Molly said. “How can I be of service?”

“I need you to drive me and a demon to Zadash.”

The other side of the phone went silent for a long moment. “I must have wax in my ears. I could have sworn you were asking me to take you and a demon to Zadash.”

“Yeah, will you?” Jester asked.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

Jester hung up the phone and went back to the dining room to find Caleb talking to some … thing. It was green with pointy, floppy bat-like ears. Scraggly black hair hid its face though Jester caught a glimpse of large yellow eyes that nearly matched Frumpkin’s. An oversized robe draped over its scrawny form. In short, the ugliest thing that Jester had ever seen, but Caleb looked at the strange creature like it was perfect. “What is that?” Jester asked her back pressed to the wall trying to keep away from it.

“Jester, this is Nott. She’s my,” Caleb paused with a frown.”Hhmmm, assistant? Underling? Friend?”

“One who saves your bacon?” But there was a smile on the strange creatures face and not a hint of malice. “So you’re his first summoner. You should be very proud. Caleb’s very powerful and very smart.”

Caleb blushed. “I’m not really. I’m low ranking when it comes to demons.”

Nott shook head and flapped about her ears. “The ranking’s wrong. You can’t do better than Caleb.”

“That’s good then,” Jester said. “I need the best help I can get.”

Nott smiled with pride. “Then you’ve came to the right place.”

“It’s a simple task. Just a simple finding,” Caleb said. “I just don’t know how long it will take.”

Jester peered down at Nott. “So, what are you doing here? I thought you just needed to talk to her?”

“It’s easier to talk in person. That and I don’t trust others in our realm,” Caleb said.

Nott pouted. “I can handle myself.”

“Oh, yes I forgot.” Caleb ruffled her hair. If Jester didn’t know what they were, she would have called it sweet. “I’ve got everything I need for our journey. When will we leave?”

“We just need to wait for our ride,” Jester said. “In the meanwhile, let me introduce you to the wonderful world of cat videos.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to share this typo. ' let me introduce you to the world world of cat videos.'
> 
> Thanks to tfwfangirlsatk for being willing to beta for me.


	3. Chapter 3

Caleb fought back a smile. None of the cats that Jester had shown him could compare to Frumpkin, but they were cute. Nott was captivated by the videos and had gotten hooked on chocolate. They were watching a fat cat jump into boxes when there was a knocking on the door.

Jester jumped up. “I’ll get it!” She returned after a minute with a purple haired man. “Molly, this is Caleb and Nott. Oh, and Frumpkin. Frumpkin’s the cat.”

“Infernal hell beast,” Caleb corrected.

Molly stared closely at Nott. “So, you’re a demon. Never thought I’d actually see one for real.” He looked over at Caleb. “So what’s with this guy?”

If Caleb wasn’t so self aware, he would’ve been offended, but Nott took care of that for him. “He’s the demon! Not me.”

“I thought you were a demon too,” Jester said.

“She’s an imp. They’re a different type of infernal being,” Caleb said. Imps were created to serve demons, but Caleb didn’t like talking about Nott like she was less than him. 

Molly stared at Caleb. “He’s a demon?”

Caleb snorted and shifted into his more demonic form. “Now do you believe it?”

Molly fell backwards his mouth hanging open and then he laughed. “This is freakin’ awesome. What are you doing here?”

“She,” Caleb pointed at Jester, “summoned me.”

“On accident,” Jester added.

“And now you need me to take you to Zadash. Why?” Molly asked.

Jester scuffed the floor with her foot. “Caleb’s going to help me find my dad.”

“Oh, Jester.” Molly frowned at her. “I thought you didn’t care about that bastard,”

“We don’t know for certain that he’s a bastard. Life might be really, really complicated and he just can’t be here. For all we know, he’s really super cool and just needs to meet me,” Jester said.

Caleb reverted to his normal form. “He’s probably not worth it.” He turned to Molly. “She says you can get us to Zadash in five hours.”

“More like four,” Molly said with a smirk. “My car should be up to it. But you’ll owe me.”

Jester pouted. “You constantly spend the night here. You’ve owed me for like three months.”

Molly shrugged. “You can’t blame me for trying. Besides this gives me the opportunity to learn more about your demon friend.”

“I’m nobody’s friend,” Caleb said.

“Hey!” Nott complained glaring at him.

Caleb ruffled her hair. “No one’s except for yours.” Even that much friendship was foolhardy. Demons were loners that used each other. And Caleb was no different from the rest of them.

“You got that right,” Nott said seeming to be appeased.

“Do we leave now?” Caleb said. The faster they got to Zadash the faster he could go home. Though, maybe staying a bit longer in the mortal realm wouldn’t be so bad. Caleb banished the thought as soon as it came. The only purpose to coming to the mortal realm was to gain more souls and fools to torture.

Jester shook her head. “It’s like 9 PM.”

“So?”

“I could do it,” Molly said. “The drive I mean. I’m used to staying up late.”

Jester bit her lip. “Could you? It’s gonna be really dark.”

Molly shrugged. “I done longer drives at night. Makes for a better story.”

“And your contact is at a bar. Those tend to be opened late,” Caleb said. “The sooner we go the sooner we,” he waved at himself and Nott, ”can go.”

Jester frowned. “I guess if Molly’s okay with it.”

“And I am,” Molly said. He clapped his hands together. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

“What show?” Caleb asked.

Molly sighed. “Us, the show is us. Seriously, Jester where did you find this guy?”

“In the living room. I’ll explain it to you while I get ready,” Jester said. The humans left the room, leaving Caleb and Nott alone.

“Is this a good idea Caleb?” Nott asked.

Caleb shook his head. “Not really, but what choice do we have?”

“We can eat them?”

Caleb chuckled. “A fair suggestion, but maybe we’ll hold off on that.” He was about to say more when the air filled with the smell of sulfur. Nott’s eyes grew wide and Caleb waved at her to hide under the table. 

Crack! A hole opened before Caleb showing him a view of the demon realm and his master. Master Ikithon was everything a demon was supposed be and everything Caleb wasn’t. His horrific fangs and horns were part of his primary form and it took no effort for him to become even more frightening. Disdain dripped from him even without speaking.

Caleb went down on one knee. “Master Ikithon. For what purpose did you call me?”

“Caleb, am I to understand that you have actually been summoned to the mortal realm?”

“Yes, master, I have. And I should be returning within the day, so you don’t need to concern yourself with any of this,” Caleb said. “I just need to find someone and then I’ll be back.”

Master Ikithon sniffed. “And can you be trusted to fulfill this task?”

Caleb bit back the temptation to point out that for his centuries of demonhood he has had a one hundred percent success rate for all tasks requested of him. “Yes, Master Ikithon, I can.”

“I do not like your tone, boy. Don’t forget who is in charge here.” Master Ikithon closed a fist and Caleb’s entire existence became pain. Fortunately Caleb had enough practice with pain to not scream. It had been pointed out to him many times that his scream was not demon-like at all. As quickly as the pain had came, it was gone. Caleb was left on the ground panting. “Now, I expect you to add to your bargain as many years as possible and do not allow any Faustian loopholes. Use every trick known to you. Do you understand?”

“Yes, master, I understand,” Caleb said.

An uncomfortable smile formed on Master Ikithon’s face. “Good.” Another crack and the hole was gone.

Nott scrambled out from under the table. “Caleb! Caleb, are you okay?”

“Fine, I’m fine. You did very good at hiding from him,” Caleb said. Master Ikithon always had a deep hatred for Nott, but to be fair, most demons did.

“What are we going to do now?” Nott asked. “Are you going to trick her?”

Caleb sighed and ruffled her hair once more. “We’ll see, but for now we’re going to fulfill our side of the bargain.”

************

Jester gathered everything she thought she needed and probably a few things that she actually didn’t, but really when traveling with a demon, an imp, and an infernal hell beast that looked like a cat, it was better to be safe than sorry. 

Molly seemed conflicted about the trip. He seemed totally for it, but also incredibly concerned that Jester was making deals with demons. “I keep telling you; it was an accident,” Jester said.

“I just don’t want to see you get hurt.” It was hard to predict with Molly whether he was pure joie de vivre or super strict. 

“It’s fine. I’ve got a handle on this.” She hoped.

Nott and Caleb were notably quiet when Molly and Jester came back to the dining room. “So, what do you need to do to get ready?”

“We’ve everything we need,” Caleb said as he got up. Nott nodded and copied him. 

“Let’s go then.”

***

Jester ended up in the front with Molly while the demons were in the back. Caleb had a death grip on the door and Nott eyes were glued to the window.

“You don’t have to worry,” Jester said, “Molly’s a really good driver.”

“That’s right. It’s not like you’re riding with Beau,” Molly said. Jester would have argued, but he was kind of right.

Caleb kept his eyes screwed shut. “Just let me know when we get there.”

“It’s not that bad, Caleb,” Nott said. “This is actually kind of fun.”

“Wait until we get to the freeway, then we’ll be flying,” Molly said. “And no, we’re not actually going to be flying, that’s an expression.”

When Molly got on the freeway, Jester plugged in her phone and started to look for the right songs to play. Something upbeat and peppy for Molly, but she wasn’t sure what the demons would like. She turned around to ask them and noticed that Nott somehow was even greener than usual. “Are you okay?”

Nott opened her mouth and let out a stream of sick. “Is that sound what I think it is?” Molly asked with a wince.

“You’re going to want to pull over soon,” Jester said.

Molly quickly found an exit and a gas station for them to clean up at. “Um, how can we hide Nott?” Jester asked. “She’s a little obvious.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Caleb said. His eyes glowed faintly and where Nott sat was instead a little human girl. She looked like she could be related to Caleb though her clothes looked like a copy of Jester’s. 

“Thanks, Cay,” Nott said. He didn’t seem to notice though. The glow never left his eyes.

Molly scrubbed the floor of his car (and may have said some choice words) while Jester washed up Nott in the bathroom.

“I’m sorry,” Nott said. “I didn’t mean to.”

Jester patted down the worst of the mess. Despite looking like a little girl in overalls, it still felt like Nott’s clothes. “It’s alright. Who knew that imps could get carsick?”

“You’re not mad?”

Jester shook her head. “Nope!”

“And you’re not going to blame Caleb?”

“Why would we blame Caleb?” Jester asked.

“Cause we’re connected,” Nott said. “He created me, so I’m attached to him. That’s why he can disguise me.”

Jester looked down at her. It was a very convincing disguise. “Can all demons do magic like this?”

“Magic, yes, but Caleb’s very smart and so most don’t use magic the way he does. Most demons are a lot more violent with their magic,” Nott said.

“He’s kind for a demon isn’t he?”

Nott nodded. “But don’t you tell anyone that. He’ll get in trouble. And don’t tell him either. He doesn’t like being reminded of how much of a disappointment he is.”

“Disappointment?” Jester asked as she finished up cleaning Nott.

“Kindness is the worst trait for a demon,” Nott said. “It gets him in trouble.”

“Do you wish that he wasn’t kind?”

Nott looked at the ground for a moment. “No, not really, but if he wasn’t, he’d be safer.” She looked so despondent.

Jester grabbed Nott’s hand. “Come on. I’ll get something for your stomach.”

Jester and Nott came back with some dramamine and ginger ale just as Molly finished up cleaning the car. “Hey,” Molly said, “we’re going to play musical chairs. Nott, you’re sitting with me.”

“What?! But I have to be with Caleb,” Nott said eyes darting about.

“You’ll be just a few extra feet away,” Jester said.

Molly nodded. “The front seat will be easier on your stomach.”

“And I’ll be next to Caleb keeping him safe,” Jester joked. But Nott gave her a very serious look and then nodded.

“Now that that’s settled,” Molly said, “can we get going for real?”

They climbed into the car and got going. After a mile or so, Nott turned around, still looking like a little girl, and squeezed Caleb’s hand. “It’s okay now, I’m safe.” 

The glow cleared from Caleb’s eyes and he startled when he noticed that Nott wasn’t next to him. “What happened?!”

“I’m over here,” Nott said waving from the front seat.

“She’s less likely to be sick up there,” Jester explained. “So you get more time with me!”

Caleb chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Lucky me.”

“Yep, lucky you!” Jester giggled and then yawned. It was starting to get late.

“Hey! No yawning! I don’t want you spreading that to me,” Molly said. “Stay awake or go to sleep.”

Jester saluted him. “Aye, aye!”

Molly just shook his head with a smile and focused on driving.

Caleb no longer kept his eyes closed, but he focused hard on only the seat in front of him.

“Maybe you should just try going to sleep,” Jester said. “That might make the trip easier for you.”

Caleb snorted. “I haven’t slept since I was human.”

“What!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thanks to tfwfangirlsatk for betaing.
> 
> I've been really excited for the end of chapter reveal, so I hope you all liked it.


	4. Chapter 4

“Since you were human?!”

“Yes, demons don’t need to sleep,” Caleb said. “So I haven’t since I was human.”

“You were human once?” Molly asked not looking at the road. The car veered into the other lane earning a loud angry honk. Molly jerked the wheel and Jeter fell against Caleb narrowly missing Frumpkin. The hell beast yowled disapprovingly and went to Nott’s lap. The demon could feel his face turn red and was grateful that the human could not see as well as he did. Nott could, though, and she just gave him an odd look. 

Jester stared at Caleb not bothering to get off him. “I thought you were a demon.”

Caleb pushed Jester so she was back on her side. “I am now, but I wasn’t always one. Some demons were always demons, but that’s not the case for me or my master,” Caleb said.

“But doesn’t make him any less of a demon,” Nott added. “Or any less powerful or smart.”

Caleb’s face grew even redder. “I’m not that smart.” Especially now that he was in the human realm. While in the demon realms, his memory was perfect, but here he had to put effort into remembering things.

“Was Nott human too?”

Nott shook her head. “No, Caleb made me, so I’ve always been an imp.”

“What were you like when you were human?” Jester asked leaning into his face.

Caleb tried to move away from her, but there was no room in the car to do so. “I don’t remember much from my human life. It was the twelfth century and I was a monk in the Zemni Fields.” Even in the demon realms, there was little that he remembered.

“Oh, like a kung fu monk?”Jester asked. Molly scoffed in the front seat.

“No, I think I transcribed things. Made copies of religious texts? That’s how I met my master.” 

“And what’re they like?” Molly asked over his shoulder.

Nott sat up in her seat. “He’s terrible and cruel. And very good at being a demon.”

“From what I remember,” Caleb said, “we were both human when we met and Master Ikithon made the deal before I did. But that’s all I really remember about being human.” He wasn’t sure if he wished he could remember more or less of those days.

“Why’s he your master?” Jester asked. 

Caleb frowned. “I don’t know. Because he is. That’s the thing about demons; you have to question everything, but you can’t ask questions.”

Nott nodded. “It’s true. One time, I asked how come Master Ikithon got summoned all the time and Caleb didn’t, and I got my ears nailed to the wall and Caleb-”

“They don’t need to hear about that,” Caleb interrupted. He knew exactly which punishment she was talking about and did not want it shared with the humans.

“Ohhh, Nott. Did your ears get better?” Jester asked. It was bizarre. No one cared about imps (Caleb cared about Nott more than it was safe to admit, but Caleb was weak). But Jester was so sincere it was frightening.

“They’re fine now. Caleb fixed them.” Caleb was supposed to punish her even more, but her ears were sensitive, so the way he saw things that was punishment enough. 

Jester grinned at Caleb her face inches away from his. “You’re a good demon, aren’t you Caleb.”

“I’m a terrible demon.” It was more accurate to say that Caleb was terrible at being a demon, but they didn’t need to know that. “One who should be feared and not stared at like a doll on displayed.” He pushed Jester away or at least he tried to. Jester was was sturdier than she appeared to be.

Molly laughed. “I don’t think any of us are going to believe that at this point.”

“If for any reason it is believed that I failed, my master will be sent here.” It was the gravest threat Caleb could think of. Nott shivered at the thought. “That is why I should be feared.”

“Is he really that terrible?” Jester asked. “I mean, he was once human like you.”

“Being human once has nothing to do with how terrible a demon is, but the ones that were once human are usually the most vile. And Master Ikithon is proof of that.” 

Molly raised his hand. “Question; if demons are so terrible and you’re treated like crap, why would you want to go back to the demon realms?”

Opening his mouth to speak, Caleb paused. Why did he want to go back to the demon realms? “Because, it’s home. It’s what I know.” And being in the mortal realm had a wrongness to it, like sand itching under his skin.

“But I thought you knew everything,” Jester said. “You are a knowledge demon afterall.”

“That is right. Caleb knows everything,” Nott said. 

Caleb sighed. “I don’t know everything. I just have access to all knowledge, but it’s not like I just I snap my finger and poof I know it. It takes steps and materials.”

“So, if we get you the right stuff, you can get us winning lottery numbers?” Molly asked.

“At the cost of 87 year of torture, yes,” Caleb said.

“Okay, tabling that for now. So if I summoned both a incubus and a succubus for a night of fun how much would that cost me?”

Caleb stared at Molly. “That would kill you. Also 375 years torture.”

“And would it be worth it?” Molly asked a bit too cheerfully.

“How should I know?! I was a monk and I’ve never had time for the pleasures of flesh.”

Jester poked Caleb’s face. “Your face is really hot. Are you blushing?”

Caleb spluttered. “This is none of your business.”

“Yeah! Leave Caleb alone!” Nott shouted.

“Relax,” Molly said, “We’re just teasing.”

“Well, you shouldn’t,” Nott said pouting.

Jester leaned forward and patted Nott on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, it just for fun. And Caleb can tell us if we’re going too far.”

“Too far?” That was not a concept that existed amongst demons. 

“Right, no teasing the demon,” Molly said. “It’s too depressing. Jester, show Nott how to control the music.”

Nott took to technology quickly. With in a few minutes, she was switching back and forth from selecting music and doing something called texting. 

Jester settled back in her seat and, as they drove, grew quieter and quieter until she fell asleep. The car moved suddenly and Jester fell against Caleb again. She mumbled something and snuggled in closer to him. “Sorry about that,” Molly said.

“That- that’s alright,” Caleb said. His face grew warm again, but he didn’t move her. He could feel butterflies form in his stomach and all he wanted was to keep her close to him. Things that demons were not supposed to feel. 

Caleb was getting attached -the worst thing that could happen to a demon. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to end up this girl’s pet. That was, if he wasn’t already. He was going to have to swallow his pride and speak to the rules lawyer. But, for now, he was going to stay still and not disturb Jester’s sleep.

*****************

Jester woke up to sudden stillness. “You’re up!” Nott shouted shrilly. “We’re at a motel.”

“A motel why?” Jester asked.

“It’s three AM. Apparently bars close at 2 AM here,” Caleb said. “Molly’s getting us a room and you’re paying for it.”

Jester couldn’t argue against it since this was her quest after all. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she straightened up to discover that she had been leaning against Caleb. “Oh, you could’ve asked me to move.”

“It’s fine. I barely noticed you,” Caleb said. He stared out the window. “Molly’s coming back.”

Molly drummed a little ditty on top of the car once he got to it. “I’ve returned victorious and have obtained a room with two beds. Long praise my valor.”

“Praise, praise!” Jester shouted. “But how are we getting Nott in? We probably can’t rely on Caleb for everything.” Caleb gave her an odd look, but he didn’t say anything.

“I got a blanket in the trunk we can cover Nott with. She’s small enough to carry,” Molly said.

Nott glared at him, but she agreed to it anyways. “But Caleb’s carrying me.”

“Of course,” Caleb said with a soft smile.

With the blanket around her and in Caleb’s arms, Nott looked like a little girl. Molly unlocked the door to their room and passed Jester the other key. “Alright, I’m gonna sleep and you guys are gonna please be quiet. Demonic conversations in the bathroom and normal conversations can happen outside.”

“That’s fair,” Jester said. She was still a little tired, but she was almost too nervous to sleep now. They were in Zadash and one step closer to Jester meeting her dad, which was exciting and scary at the same time. Jester plopped down on the second bed and scrolled through her texts and found a conversation between Nott and Jester’s mom. They mainly talked about how Jester was a good girl and then Nott talking about Caleb. It was touching how much the little imp loved the demon.

Caleb sat in a chair with his eyes glowing again while Nott and Frumpkin curled up together on the other chair. There was a calmness to it despite the fact that he was tapping into some unholy power. With a snap, the glow left Caleb’s eyes. “Do you have a Skype?”

“What?” Jester asked.

“A Skype. My typical methods of contacting mortals doesn’t work here, but a thing called Skype can reach my contact,” Caleb said.

Molly rolled over. “Yes, she has Skype and, yes, you can take it into the bathroom, and, yes, you can be quiet and let me sleep.”

Taking the hint, Jester grabbed her phone and Caleb and went into the bathroom. “So what’s the name of your contact?”

“Ruleslawyer74,” Caleb said and once again his voice slipped into a heavier Zemnian accent. “That is how you’ll reach him with your Skype.” His voice went back to normal.

Jeser searched for the name. “Found him. And you’re lucky, he’s on and not private. Want me to message him or just call him?” Caleb stared at her for a moment. “Do you want to speak with him or just send him a note?”

"I must speak with him," Caleb said.

"Okay." Jester pressed the call button. The phone rang and behind her, Caleb shifted to his demon form.

Ruleslawyer74 answered the call and appeared on the screen. He was a nerdy looking guy with large glasses that took up most of his face and a prominent nose. Though, he did have very nice brown hair that went down to his shoulders and a fairly cool leather jacket (though he probably thought it looked cooler than it actually did). "Hello, this is the Rules Lawyer, here for all your rules need. What system are you wor-" he went silent and stared at Jester for a moment. "Oh, um, sorry I usually don't have such pretty girls calling. How can I help you?"

Caleb grabbed the phone and came onto the screen. "She's not the one calling you. I am."

"Aahh!" Rules Lawyer screamed in a surprisingly high scream. "Dangit Caleb! Give me some warning next time. Show your true form demon." He sounded tired and a bit exasperated.

Caleb smirked for a moment and then went back to looking human. "I need you to read a contract."

"Of course you do," Rules Lawyer said rolling his eyes. "You know this will take two years off my torture, per our usual agreement."

"I know," Caleb said. "Now will you do it?"

"You know I will, but how come you're using Skype? You're usually a lot more brimstone and sulfur."

Caleb looked away from the phone refusing to say anything.

"I accidentally summoned him," Jester said. "So he's on earth."

"Congratulations," Rules Lawyer said with a smile. "I told you you'd make it here one of these days. How did you get the promotion?"

Caleb grumbled under his breath before letting out a huff. "I didn't get a promotion. The girl just made a mistake."

"Hmmm, so let me guess this is the contract I need to read for you?" Rules Lawyer asked.

Caleb nodded. "That's rights."

"Alright, send it over."

Caleb snapped his fingers and a scroll appeared in his hands. He frowned and snapped again, but the scroll remained in his hand. "I can't."

Rules Lawyer sighed. "You're going to have to scan and send it. You can't just poof it when you're in the mortal realms. Please tell me your summoner knows how to do that. I do not want to spend the next hour telling an ancient demon how to use email."

"I can do it," Jester said. She already was grabbing the scroll out of Caleb's hand.

"Hey!" But he didn't put up much of a fight.

Jester slipped the red ribbon holding it closed off of it and unrolled it. It was filled with cramped writing full of all sorts of ‘thee’s and ‘thou’s and ‘third parties’ and all sorts of scripture and lawyer talk. She took a picture of it and sent it off to Rules Lawyer. "There!"

Rules Lawyer clicked around on his computer. "Got it! Alright, what am I looking for?"

"It's, I, what are the basic terms?" Caleb asked.

"Let's see." Rules Lawyer leaned into the computer and stuck out his tongue as he read. "This is your standard missing person locator. Typical payment of 50 years torture, but since she didn't know who she was making a deal with when she summoned you, she can argue to get three years knocked off."

"She didn't even know she was summoning a demon," Caleb said. "What does that do?"

Rules Lawyer rubbed his chin. "That should knock off another five years then. Nothing too fancy here."

“I’m allowed to do that?” Jester asked.

Rules Lawyer nodded. “They hate it, but demons expect the rules to be exploited. They do it themselves all the time. Hell, they even cheat the rules completely if they think they won’t get caught.”

“And what happens if they get caught?” Jester asked.

A bloodthirsty smile crossed Rules Lawyer’s face. “Oh, you can’t even imagine the tortures reserved for cheaters.”

Caleb cleared his throat. "There's nothing else in that contract?" he asked. "Are you sure?"

"What else would there be?" Rules Lawyer asked. "I'm not really seeing anything."

Caleb looked down his face beet red. "Is there a servitude clause? Or, um, pet clause?" His voice dropped down to a whisper.

Rules Lawyer laughed. "Really? You? Never going to happen, but yeah, I'll check."

"Pet?" Jester asked. "Like Frumpkin?"

The demon found a way to become redder. "Having a demon as a pet is a lot different from having an animal or a hell beast as a pet. It means you have access to certain favors."

Jester frowned. "You're not talking about favors like finding my dad are you?"

"No," Caleb said. "I mean more like, like, when two adults-" His voice cracked and he couldn't finish.

"Oh, you are talking about sex," Jester said. "I don't see what you're so embarrassed about.”

Rules Lawyer was cracking up so hard he couldn't sit up. "This is amazing. I'm almost tempted to waive my fee. I won't, but this is almost worth it."

"Shut up! What did you find?" Caleb asked.

"You're not her servant and definitely not her pet," Rules Lawyer said. "Anything else you need?"

Caleb snapped his fingers and the scroll disappeared. "No that's enough for tonight."

"Wait, why couldn't Caleb just read the contract?" Jester asked.

Caleb bared his teeth and looked away. Rules Lawyer shook his head and backed away. "Oh no way am I answering that. I value my life."

“It’s none of your business,” Caleb said. “Just know that if you want to find a loophole or any kind of information on demons and their deals, speak to the Rules Lawyer. He’s slightly more trusting worthy than your typical demon.”

Rules Lawyer clutched his chest with a grin. “Ahh, Caleb, I’m touched. You do like me.”

Caleb snorted. “You know I can’t. Now, explain it to her.” He left the bathroom.

“Explain what?” Jester said staring after Caleb.

“Don’t worry, that’s just demons for you. They’re incapable of feeling any kind of emotion really, but they’re pretty good at mimicking them,” Rules Lawyer explained. “It’s part of why they’re so good at trapping people and making deals.”

“Like us?”

Rules Lawyer nodded. “Exactly, but Caleb’s soft, so it’s easy to find loopholes and workarounds with him. But that doesn’t mean you can trust him.”

Jester frowned at that. Logically it made sense, but she didn’t like the idea of distrusting anybody. And part of her hoped that they were becoming friends. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Rules Lawyer said. “I mean you can like him, but he’s like a boa constrictor; treating him like he has the same kind of thought process and emotions you do just winds up with you getting strangled to death.”

Unconsciously, Jester rubbed her neck. “Can I ask you another question?”

“Who am I to say no to a pretty girl?”

“Um, have you seen Caleb’s contract? The one for becoming a demon” Jester asked. “I mean since he wasn’t always a demon he probably has one right? Or am I being silly?”

“Huh, you saying he was human once? Never would have guessed.” Rules Lawyer gave it some thought. “I’ve never seen one before, but I’ve read descriptions and oh, they are the most intricate clad tight contracts you can imagine. I’d give my eye tooth to read one.”

Jester rubbed her arm nervously. “And if you did, if I got Caleb’s for you, would you be able to find anything that might exploitable? You know make his life easier?”

“Oh, don’t get attached to him. It’s just going to break your heart.”

“But could you?”

He shook his head. “That’s probably even beyond my skills. They’re iron tight. But, I can try. Who knows, maybe he’s supposed to have another imp or something. Demons like imps, or they like them as much as a demon can like anything.”

“Thank you,” Jester said. “What do I owe you?”

“Getting to see a demonhood contract would be payment in itself,” Rules Lawyer said. “Oh, one more thing.”

Jester had nearly hung up the call, but stopped herself in time.”Yes?”

“Don’t give him more than you can afford, and don’t trust him when you’re alone,” he said.

Jester nodded. “I won’t.” She turned her phone off and sat down on the floor. For some reason, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had already given Caleb something too valuable - her friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I really hope you guys are enjoying this. I got to admit that I'm excited to share each update with you all. Thanks again to tfwfangirlsatk for betaing this for me.


	5. Chapter 5

Caleb paced the sidewalk outside of the motel trying to clear his head. It made no sense. He was a demon; incapable of attachments and feeling anything for anyone else. Yet there he was caring about Jester. The impossible had happened and he would’ve given anything to stop it. At least he did until he saw Jester step out of their room with a frown on her face. Then he would have given anything to make her smile again.

“Hi Caleb,” she said trying to smile but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Can I ask a favor of you? Well, not a favor, I’m willing to pay for it.”

“What is it?”

Jester stared down at the ground. “Can I see your contract? I mean the contract for you becoming a demon.”

“That will be twenty years torture.” And he hated that that was his first response. “Why do you even want to see it?”

She bit her lip still avoiding eye contact. “I just wanted to check something.”

“I don’t think you should.” Caleb tried to think of a reason why she would want to see his contract, but the only one he could think of was that she wanted to become a demon. “Don’t go down this path.”

“Caleb, trust me.”

He turned away and snapped his fingers. The familiar weight of parchment formed in his hand. “Here.” Caleb couldn’t bare to look at her as Jester took the contract and thumbed through it.

“This is a lot longer than the one I have with you.” She shoved one of the pages into his face. “What does this bit mean?”

The writing whirled and moved and were more like blobs than words. All contracts were like that for Caleb. “I’m not helping you with this.”

Jester frowned. “Oh. Then, can you show me Master Ikithon’s contract too? Do you have access to it?”

“I do, but it’s an extra 50 years.” Caleb grabbed both her hands. “Please, don’t do this.”

“I know what I am doing,” Jester said. “Show it to me.”

Caleb snapped his fingers harder than he had intended to. “Take them.” He turned his back to her.

“Thank you,” Jester said weakly. Behind him he could hear the soft clicking of her phone. “Here,” she said tapping his shoulder, “I’m done.”

With another snap, Caleb dismissed the contracts and went back inside the motel without a word. He was a demon used to betrayal. So why did this hurt so much?

************************************

Jester watched as Caleb stomped back into their room. Did she do something wrong? Not sure what else to do, she sent the pictures of the contracts to Rules Lawyer before going inside. 

Caleb was pointedly ignoring her. Was there something in his contract that he didn’t want her to know? Or maybe he just thought she was being a busybody and putting her nose where it shouldn’t be. But she couldn’t just ignore that Caleb was suffering. Even if it meant that he wouldn’t even pretend to like her anymore.

“Goodnight, Caleb,” Jester whispered as she climbed into bed. He turned even further away from her. Covering her head with the blanket, she tried to go to sleep to pretend that nothing happened. But all she wanted to do was cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...I apologize for making Jester sad. And thanks again to tfwfangirlsatk for betaing.


	6. Chapter 6

Caleb spent the night fuming on what Jester was planning on doing. He thought he was a good example exactly why she wouldn’t want to be a demon. But apparently she was a bigger fool than he had realized.

The humans didn’t get up until early in the afternoon. After an argument over who got to use the shower first (Caleb and Nott refused to go near it, so it made things a little easier), Jester disappeared into the bathroom. “So The Evening Nip,” Molly said after a few minutes of silence. “It only has one review and that’s for two stars.”

Caleb remained silent.

“Or we can just sit here all sullen and silent.” Molly flopped back down on the bed with a sigh.

“Caleb, are you okay?” Nott asked climbing into his lap. 

Caleb ruffled her hair. “I’m fine. Just ready to go home.”

“The Evening Nip opens in a few hours. Once Jester is done in the shower, I can finally get clean and then we can grab some food. After that, it should be opened,” Molly said.

“Good.” Caleb glared past Nott at the wall. Really, he should have thought of it as a good thing. He’d recruited someone into being a demon. That was sure to earn him some points. But all he felt was a sick pit in his stomach.

It was half an hour before Jester left the bathroom. Caleb glared down at the ground. He shouldn’t care at all about what she did, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at her.

Nott sighed. “I don’t know what you two are fighting about, but I’m tired of it already.” She grabbed Caleb’s hand and pulled him out of his chair. “Now, I can’t leave this room, so you two are going outside and you’re not coming back in until you’ve talked this all out.”

Caleb stumbled out the door as Nott pushed him. Jester followed him sedately. Now that he was looking at her, Caleb saw that there were tears welling in her eyes. “What did I do wrong?” She sounded so defeated.

“You’re tampering with things you shouldn’t,” Caleb said reminding himself that he was right in this.

“I know, but-”

“You don’t know!” Caleb interrupted. “Becoming a demon?! What are you thinking?!”

Jester looked at him confused. “I’m not becoming a demon. Who told you that?”

“Then why are you looking at demonhood contracts?” Caleb asked.

“I thought it was obvious, but if you don’t know,” She smiled mischievously, “then I should keep it a secret. I’ll let you know if it works though.”

“If what works?” He had no clue what she could possibly intend to do with those contracts.

Jester tapped the side of her nose. “That’s a secret.” It was frustrating, but he felt lighter knowing that she wasn’t rushing head first into demonhood. “But It’s super sweet that you were worried about me. Even if it’s just an act.”

“Right, of course it’s an act.” Such a convincing one that even Caleb was falling for it. “But, it’s good to know that you’re not doing anything dangerous.”

“I won’t!” Jester hugged him so hard that they stumbled back against the wall.

“Get a room!” Someone in the parking lot yelled out.

Caleb looked around confused. “We already have a room. Why would we need another one?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jester said with a giggle. “Let’s go back inside.”

“But, you’re still holding onto me,” Caleb said.

She let go of him and jumped back. “Sorry,” Jester said pushing her hair back behind her ear.

They went back inside to find Nott staring at the door. “Have you made up yet?”

“Yes,” Caleb said. “No need to worry about us anymore.”

Nott squinted at them and looked Caleb over. “Okay, you can stay inside.”

Jester turned on the TV and insisted on teaching the demons all about something she called Hallmark movies. They’d already finished one and already started the next one by the time Molly got out of the bathroom. Molly took Jester to go get food leaving Caleb, Nott, and Frumpkin alone.

Caleb watched the movie, but he didn’t see the appeal of it. 

“Um, Caleb?” Nott asked. “Are you going to miss being here once we go home?”

“What is there to miss?”

“Candy for one thing. Not being under the constant threat of torture. Jester.”

Caleb coughed hard at the last one. “What makes you think that I’d miss her?”

Nott shrugged. “Because I’m going to miss her. She’s very nice.”

“Nott, you’re an imp. You don’t have feelings like that,” Caleb said. He felt bad for pointing it out to her, but he couldn’t let her live in denial. “She’s better off without us.”

Nott pouted at the ground. “I know that. That doesn’t mean I won’t miss her.”

Caleb sighed. “Me too.” Nott leaned into him as they watched the movie. It didn’t really make sense, but it was oddly soothing.

“We’ve returned bearing the fruits of our labors!” Molly shouted out as he and Jester returned a half an hour later. The paper bags they held smelled good.

Nott leapt off the bed at one, but Molly lifted it over his head at the last second. “Hold your horses. There’s enough burgers for everyone.”

“Right! First we need to figure out our battle plan,” Jester said.

“Battle plan?” Caleb asked.

Jester nodded. “Yeah! We got to figure out exactly what we’re going to do at The Evening Nip.” Molly passed out the burgers while Jester pulled out her notebook. “I’ve got everything you told me right here.”

“It’s just going inside, saying a password and then speaking to someone call the Gentleman. It’s not that complicated,” Caleb said.

“But what if it isn’t that easy? This is my one chance to find my dad.” Jester sat down on the same bed as Caleb. “I don’t want this to go wrong.”

“It won’t.”

Molly snorted. “That’s what I kept telling her. He’s probably not worth it. He did ditch you and your mom.”

“You don’t know that,” Jester pouted. “It could’ve been complicated.” She looked desperate to hold on to that hope.

“Fine, here’s your plan: you take your friend in with you, if your father is there, Nott and I go home. If not, you’ll find out what you can and we’ll go to the next place,” Caleb said.

Jester smiled weakly. “Thank you, Caleb.”

A weight formed in his chest and for once Caleb ignored the fact that he was a demon and focused on that weight. Even though he wasn’t her servant, he would do anything for that girl.

*******************

Jester felt more confident after eating and discussing their plans. Really, it was more of an idea than a plan, but it was comforting to know that she wouldn’t be going in by herself. There was still time to kill before the bar opened, so they watched another cheesy romance movie. It almost felt like a normal road trip. Except for the whole Nott was obviously an imp thing.

Once the movie finished with the main couple finally getting together, it was time to go. Nott was covered with a blanket, so Caleb didn’t have to disguise her. Everyone in the car was silent. Molly looked like he wanted to say something, but he kept closing his mouth. Caleb only stared at the back of Molly’s seat and Jester was trying to convince herself that everything was going to be okay.

“We’re here,” Molly said. They couldn’t park right in front of the bar, but they were only around the corner a block away which wasn’t so bad. “Are you ready?”

Jester nodded her throat feeling dry as sandpaper. “Actually Molly? Is it okay if Caleb goes with me?”

Molly’s lips puckered like he had bit into a lemon, but he nodded. “Sure.” He hugged Jester with one arm and pressed a kiss into her forehead. “Good luck.”

“Thanks,” Jester whispered.

Caleb just stared at her. “You want me?”

“If you don’t mind,” Jester said. “I mean this all started with you, so it kind of makes sense that it ends with you too.”

“I’d be honored,” he said, but Caleb still sounded a bit confused. He ducked under Nott’s blanket and said something to her as he gave her Frumpkin, but Jester couldn’t hear what he said. Putting the blanket back over Nott, Caleb offered Jester his arm. “Are you ready?”

Jester really wasn’t, but she nodded anyways. “Yeah.”

They were silently as they approached The Evening Nip. It was the most forgettable bar Jester had ever seen; bland and aged, she didn’t see why anyone would go in there, but they went in anyways. 

The only people in the place was the bartender and two lone patrons. Jester approached the bar trying to ignore her nerves. The bartender glared at her and Jester’s butterflies doubled. “I, I-”

“While I have no coin,” Caleb whispered in her ear prompting her.

“While I have no coin, I’d be willing to offer many gifts,” Jester said.

The bartender eyed her for a moment and then waved for them to follow him into the back. It looked like a pretty ordinary and boring storage room, but then the bartender picked up a particular bottle and a shelf moved revealing a hidden stairway. “Down you go,” the bartender said. “And no funny business. We’ve got eyes on you.”

Jester gulped and went down the stairs Caleb following her. At the bottom of the stairs was another bar, but this one was much better than the one upstairs. For one thing there were actually people in this one and decent lighting. It felt like everyone was staring at them and they probably were. Chances were it was rare for newcomers to enter the lower barroom. 

Reaching back, Jester grabbed hold of Caleb’s hand and held onto it as they approached the bar. “Um, excuse me, but I need to speak with the Gentleman.”

The bartender (who was much better looking than the bartender upstairs) pointed at the back corner. There sat the Gentleman who definitely suited the title. He was thin and middle aged with an air of mystery to him. Dapper was the best word Jester could think of for him. The Gentleman looked up at her. “Now who do we have here?” he asked.

“My name’s Jester and I was told that you can tell me where Babenon D-” The Gentleman held up a hand silencing her.

“This is obviously a conversation to be held in private,” The Gentleman said as he stood up. “If you will follow me? Your boyfriend can wait here.”

Jester held on to Caleb’s hand. “He’s not my boyfriend and I’m not going without him.”

“Very well.” The Gentleman almost sounded bored, but there was something else that Jester couldn’t quite place in his voice. He led them to another room, this one had blue and moody lighting and looked like it was a combination of an office, bedroom and dealers’ room. “Now tell me; why have you came here asking after that name?”

“She’s got her resources,” Caleb said.

Jester nodded. “I was told you could tell me about Babenon Dosal. He’s my dad or at least my mom’s pretty sure he is.”

“Your mother wouldn’t happen to be Marion Lavorre, would she?” the Gentleman asked.

“She is! Do you know her?”

The Gentleman stared her for a long moment like he was taking tally of all her features and then sighed. “Babenon Dosal. That’s a name I haven’t gone by for a long time.”

Jester’s jaw dropped. She squeezed Caleb’s hand for comfort and for a moment it was there, but then it was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual thanks to tfwfangirlsatk for betaing. I hope you guys liked this chapter.
> 
> Next time I'll see you all in Hell ... or at least the Demon Realms.


	7. Chapter 7

The stench of sulfur filled Caleb’s nose. He didn’t even have to open his eyes to know that he was home. Nott pressed into his leg and Frumpkin leapt onto his shoulder. Caleb opened his eyes knowing just what he would see. And sure enough, he was in the caverns of the demon realms. It was muggy and hot and yet it dried out his throat at the same time. There was a flickering and red quality to the light despite the fact that there was no source for the light and definitely no fire. There was a sense of dread to everything, but it was home.

Caleb reached down and checked on Nott. “Are you okay?”

Nott nodded. “I’m fine. You completed your task?”

“I did.” He wasn’t sure if he was pleased with himself, but at least Jester had found her father.

Nott smiled at Caleb. “I’m proud of you.”

“Don’t say that,” Caleb said. “I’ve only done my job.” A job he was starting to loathe. He could only hope that loathing would pass before anyone else noticed.

“But you still did a good job,” Nott said, her smile not fading.

Caleb ruffled her hair and got up. “Now, how about you go hide and I go make my report to Master Ikithon.” Nott clapped her hands together and vanished. “The same goes for you Frumpkin, you don’t need to see this.” The hell beast headbutted Caleb and disappeared as well.

The demon let out a sigh once he was alone. He didn’t trust Master Ikithon to not take out his frustration on Caleb’s underlings. Caleb focused on looking as cruel as possible and shifted into his more demonic form. It wouldn’t impress anyone in the demon realms, but Caleb couldn’t help but smile at the memory of the humans’ reactions to it. True, they were more impressed than anything else, but there was a moment of a fear each time and it counted.

Once he was certain that he looked proper, Caleb made his way to his Master’s domain. The tunnels he traveled down grew hotter, but the pit in Caleb’s stomach just grew colder. He would never confess to being scared of Master Ikithon, but that was because everyone already knew he was. There were few in any realm that weren’t. 

Caleb announced himself at the edge of Master Ikithon’s domain and felt a pull dragging him in deeper and fought the temptation to roll his eyes. Master Ikithon could have invited him in instead beckoning him with magic. It was all just a show of power, but one that was to be taken seriously. Following the pull, Caleb was brought before his master.

Master Ikithon sat upon a throne made of bones and tortured souls (which, now that Caleb thought about it, was pretty tacky looking). Caleb bowed his head. “Master, I’ve returned from the human realm.” A sudden surge of pain ran through him dropping him to his knees.

“How many times do I need to instruct on proper etiquette? In the the future, remember to kneel,” Master Ikithon said.

“Yes, Master Ikithon,” Caleb said through clenched teeth. 

Master Ikithon leaned forward on his throne. “Now tell me, were you successful?”

“Yes, I was,” Caleb said. “I’ve managed to get 112 years of torture, sir.”

“Impressive for you. Of course, most summonings result in at least 200 years, but there’s hope for you yet, I supposed.”

Caleb nodded, not daring to get up yet. “Thank you, master.”

“You’re excused,” Master Ikithon said. “Now get out of my sight.”

Caleb did not need to be told twice, he hurried out of his master’s domain and back to his own. It was a small cave and cramped with just him, Nott, and Frumpkin, but it was safer than anywhere else for them. Nott was staring at the entrance and leapt up when Caleb came in. “You’re back!”

“I am. Come here,” Caleb said holding his arms open.

Nott scurried into his arms. “What do you think Jester’s doing right now?”

Caleb frowned. “I don’t know.” He just hoped that he could forget about her.

********

“Wasn’t there someone else here?” The Gentleman asked staring at where Caleb once was. “Nevermind.”

Jester stood there by herself trembling. Her mind raced trying to think of what to say, but all she had was nothing. “I, I-” She tried to speak, but her throat closed up and her mouth went dry. Tears welled up in her eyes and she ran.

She barely paid attention to anything as she escaped the bar tears running down her face. Jester only stopped once she got outside. Wiping that tear tracks off her face, she took several deep breaths. Molly was probably starting to worry about her, so Jester smiled brightly and casually continued to go to his car.

“How did it go?” Molly asked standing outside his car.

Jester shrugged. “It was a total bust. Turns out you were right and my dad’s super lame.” She was the lame on though for running like a wimp.

“I’m sorry,” Molly said. “I was kind of hoping that I’d be wrong.”

“It’s alright. Can we just go home?”

Molly nodded. “Sure.”

Jester couldn’t help but notice that Molly was alone now. “Nott left too? Caleb disappeared as soon as I met my dad.”

“Who?” Molly gave her a probing look. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine, nothing to worry about. It’s nothing.” She was the only one who remembered the demons. It was like her own personal secret. But it didn’t feel special.

Jester curled up in the passenger seat looking at her phone. Molly went on about nothing in particular just filling the car with the familiar sound of his voice. She had forgotten to check her phone and found a bunch of messages from Beau wondering where she was and one from the Rules Lawyer. Sending a fast text first to Beau letting her know that Jester was not dead in a ditch, she opened the message from the Rules Lawyer. He was just letting her know that it was going to take a week at least for him to get through both the contracts.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Molly asked. “You’re being awfully quiet.”

Jester smiled brightly. “I’m doing great. Why wouldn’t I be?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And once again thanks to tfwfangirlsatk for betaing!


	8. Chapter 8

Caleb’s eyes strained in the dim candlelight. The manuscript he was transcribing was becoming more and more of a nightmare. He thought he would have been able to finish it the day before, but the writing kept shrinking more and more proving the manuscript to be much longer than Caleb had first anticipated. When a knock came at his door, he nearly cried for a joy at an excuse for a break.

“Brother Caleb,” Eodwulf said more formally than he normally would have. Caleb stretched his neck to see someone behind Eodwulf. “Lord Ikithon is here to see you.”

Caleb moved quickly to his feet nearly knocking over his inkwell. “Lord Ikithon, it is good to see you again. Do you have anything needing transcription again?” He hoped so. It was sinful to say, but Caleb preferred Lord Ikithon’s manuscripts to any of those that the Monastery gave him to transcribe.

Lord Ikithon waved Eodwulf away excusing him from the scriptorium. “Not today, Brother Caleb, but your eagerness is noted. No, I wanted to speak with you on something else. A possible contract. Perhaps I can persuade you serve a new master?” 

“A contract? But I serve God and none else,” Caleb said. “My place is here in the abbey.”

“And you serve it well, but do you ever wonder if there is a greater calling for you elsewhere?” Lord Ikithon asked.

Caleb looked away. “To think that is prideful and a sin.”

“To do your best and serve others is not a crime,” Lord Ikithon said. “I believe it is the wisest thing you could do. The contract I’m offering put you at a font of limitless knowledge.”

“It will?” It was easy for Caleb to abstain from earthly joys, gluttony, slothiness, lust. But greed, the greed of knowledge, of learning all there was to know? That was a completely different story.

Lord Ikithon handed Caleb a stack of papers. “You don’t have to sign it immediately. You can read and think it over. But, I believe you would prove an asset.”

Caleb tried to read the contract, but the words were murky and danced before his eyes impossible to read. He didn’t dare say anything though afraid to appear a fool. “Thank you, sir. I will ponder over it.” The contract felt important, life changing, even if he couldn’t read it. And it wasn’t like Lord Ikithon had ever given Caleb any reason not to trust him. It wasn’t time to sign it yet, but Caleb knew that eventually he would.

********************

“Are you okay?” Beau asked. “You’ve been acting weird. I mean weird for you.”

Jester looked up from the painting she was working on. “What are you talking about?”

“Ever since you came back from Zadash last week, you’ve been off. I don’t know, quiet? Not like you,” Beau said.

“Maybe I’ve matured.” Jester focused back on her painting. She hated worrying her friends. Ever since Caleb and Nott left though, there was an emptiness to her and she couldn’t escape it.

Beau frowned. “You know just because I suck at emotions doesn’t mean I don’t care. If you need to talk to someone, there’s me. We’re friends, after all.”

Jester grinned at Beau. “We are?”

“Of course, we are.” Beau playfully punched Jester in the arm. “And if something’s bothering you, you shouldn’t feel like you have to hide it from me.”

“I don’t want to worry you. It’s nothing important,” Jester said.

“Doesn’t matter if it’s important if it bothers you.”

Jester bit her lip. “It’s about my dad. I actually didn’t talk to him.” 

“What did the bastard do?” Beau asked already cracking her knuckles. “I can go have a talk to him.”

“I think my dad’s a crime lord so you probably shouldn’t, and he didn’t do anything. I just got scared and chickened out. I thought I’d be able to handle it by myself, but I’m not,” Jester said.

Beau nudged Jester’s shoulder. “Hey, I don’t think I’d be able to confront my dad by myself either.”

“Really? But you’re so cool and tough.”

Beau blushed. “Thanks. You can be tough too. Next time you go to Zadash, take me with you. With me there by your side, I bet he won’t seem so scary.”

Jester gave Beau a big hug. “Thank you, Beau.”

“No problem, Jes,” Beau said awkwardly hugging her back. “I care about you, you know that right?”

“I do now.” 

Beau broke away from the hug. “Yeah, good, I gotta go ... do stuff.” She hurriedly left the room with a hint of a blush still on her face.

Jester giggled and went to return to her painting, but her phone buzzed interrupting her. It was the Rules Lawyer calling her. “Hello?” she said answering the call.

“Big discovery! This is huge!” Rules Lawyer shouted his voice squeaking a little. “This is major!”

Jester leaned forward. “Really?! Major? How?” 

“I’ve been holding back from contacting you before finishing going through these contracts in their entirety, but they are nuts. Literally. I don’t even know where to begin.” It sounded like Rules Lawyer got up and paced in front of his desk. “First of, there’s one thing you need to know about demonhood and other big contracts. The stuff we dabble with, asking for information or to find somebody, that’s small beans. All those need is a spoken agreement, but the big ones those are all written out before anything can be agreed upon. You understand?”

Jester nodded. “I think so.”

“Good. So these are the first ones I’ve seen, but even I can tell that these demonhood contracts are completely off. First thing is the lengths of these. From what I’ve heard, for a higher demon, Caleb’s master’s is pretty standard maybe a little bit long, but Caleb’s, that’s completely different story.”

“What do you mean?” Jester asked.

Rules lawyer pushed his hair out of his face. “Right, so for his master’s it was well over a hundred pages, but Caleb’s was only 29 pages.”

“Is that not a lot?”

“For a demonhood contract, that’s barely a footnote. There are entire chunks missing from his contract.”

Jester frowned and bit her lip. “But I made sure that I sent you every page.”

“No, no you did,” Rules Lawyer said. “I mean I thought that I was missing pages too at first, but it all connected together unbroken. The contract was written without those bits on purpose. Caleb doesn’t have all the full powers of a demon. It actually explains a lot.”

“Caleb is being completely screwed over?” She knew that she shouldn’t feel bad for a demon, but Jester couldn’t help but want to comfort him even if he wasn’t there.

There was a rustling like the Rules Lawyer was nodding with an over-enthusiastic smile in his voice. “Exactly! See that’s part of why Caleb’s master’s contract is so long. He got bonuses for everything Caleb is missing. Most demons have to work their way up, but with this little deal, he was able to start at the top.”

“That doesn’t make sense. Why would Caleb agree to such an unfair deal?” Jester asked.

“There’s a little subsection of his master’s that will explain everything.” Rules lawyer clicked on something on his computer. “I’m sending it to you right now all highlighted and underlined for you convenience.”

Jester clicked on the link as soon as it came and frowned as she read it. “Wait, what does this mean?”

“Keep reading.”

Jester got to the bottom of the paragraph and her jaw dropped.

“I see you got to the doozy bit,” Rules Lawyer said his voice flavored with a smirk. “I was freaking out when I got to that part too.”

“But -but- but this is cheating!” Jester was about ready to throw her phone in anger, instead she just minimized the file.

Rules Lawyer shrugged with a hint of a smile. “That it is.”

“It’s not fair!”

“It isn’t,” Rules Lawyer said with a smile. “Now what are you going to do?”

All of Jester’s indignant anger left at once. “What am I going to do? I- I can’t do anything.” 

“Au contraire. You’ve discovered a conspiracy of sorts or at least cheating and if there’s anything demons love to torture, it’s a cheater. You just have to present the evidence.” He made it sound simple, but Jester felt like it was going to be the opposite. She didn’t even have the nerve to talk to her dad.

“I can’t,” Jester said.

“Well, I’m kind of wanted by a few demonic lords, so there’s no way I’m going to appear before an entire crowd of them,” Rules Lawyer said. Jester went pale. “But don’t worry, you’re not going to actually be going to the demon realms. It’s going to be more like a skype call like this, only you know with a bunch of demons.”

Jester frowned at him. “That’s not helping.”

“Look I’m sorry, I’ll coach you on everything you need to know. This is the only way we’re going to get this guy, you know?”

“I guess,” Jester said staring down at the ground. “But if we’re successful with this, what will happen to Caleb?”

Rules Lawyer paused. “Huh, I didn’t think of that. I have no clue.”

Jester wanted to hang up her phone, but that wouldn’t help Caleb. “Tell me what to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, guys. I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter. I've been looking forward to sharing this one especially Caleb's part.
> 
> Again thanks to tfwfangirlsatk for betaing!


	9. Chapter 9

Some would say that it was impossible to follow the passage of time in the demon realms, but Caleb always knew the time and date of all time zones, so he knew that it had been exactly eight days, 2 hours, and 43 minutes since he had left Jester. Not that he would admit to purposefully keeping track. That would mean that he was constantly thinking about her (which he had been, but he would never admit to).

Caleb kept to his one cavern of a domain even more than usual. Ever since he had been in the human realm, he felt like something was wrong. Like he didn’t belong in the demon realms, but he didn’t belong in the human realm either. He didn’t fit anywhere. It was a truth that Caleb had always known, but now it felt even more obvious.

Nott had been worrying about him which was not supposed to be something imps were capable of. “I’m sorry you don’t belong to a better demon,” Caleb told her.

She shook her head furiously. “I wouldn’t want any other demon. You’re the smartest one to ever exist.”

“I doubt that, but thank you for the kind thought,” Caleb said.

“Kind? Caleb, are you okay?” Nott looked even more concerned.

Caleb paled once he realized what he said. “I’m sorry Nott. You’re not kind at all. You are cruel and terrible, and I wouldn’t want you any other way.”

“You shouldn’t apologize. Just don’t let anyone else hear you say anything like that,” Nott said.

“I won’t.” Caleb looked down at her. He still couldn’t help but feel she deserved better.

A jolt shook under Caleb’s feet and all at once he was not in his domain, but before the council of the great demon lords, including Master Ikithon. In the middle sat the greatest demon lord of them all. Caleb filled with dread. Did they hear him? Or was there some other terrible mistake that he had forgotten about? He fell down to his knees and did not dare to look up. “My lords. For what reason have I been brought before you?”

“Caleb!” But it was not his lords, it was the voice of Jester. Caleb dared to look up and saw a rift above him and Jester looking through it. It took all his will power not to call out her name. 

Master Ikithon snorted with derision. “Caleb’s here. Now tell us why you’ve come before this council.

“Right, right.” Jester took a deep breath and straightened up. “Right, I have evidence that Trent Ikithon tricked and cheated Caleb Widogast.” Murmurs rippled through the council.

Caleb stared at her with disbelief. There was no way that was true. He got exactly what he deserved. But, he couldn’t remember anything about signing the contract or about being human in general. A small glimmer of hope rose in him and he quickly stomped it out. 

“Really?” Master Ikithon snorted. “Somehow I highly doubt that.”

“Really. Caleb, will you summon both yours and Trent’s contracts?” Jester asked. Caleb snapped and both appeared in his hands. “Thank you. Now can you read subsection b on yours? It’s on the ninth page.”

Caleb stared at the page, but it might as well just been a bunch of scribbles. “I can’t.” The room filled with laughter and jeers. The great demon lord held up his hand silencing them all.

“I’m sorry, Caleb,” Jester said with all the gentleness in any realm. “Now, it’s correct to assume that that’s not super common in demons, right?”

“All demons can read contracts,” said a particularly grim incubus. “Always knew there was something wrong with that one.”

Jester glared at him, but not for long. “So that’s an important part of being a demon?”

“Very,” the incubus said drily.

“And so is summoning hellfire, right?” Jester asked. “Cause I found that clause in Trent’s but not Caleb’s.” There was no way Jester could find that on her own. She must have went to the Rules Lawyer’ for help. But that didn’t explain why Jester was there pointing out just how much of a failure Caleb was.

The incubus smirked. “Any demon worth their salt can do that.”

“So what you’re saying is that Caleb’s contract is like super super unfair and didn’t make him a proper demon? That no one in their right mind would sign it?” Jester asked. “That anyone who read it would know better?”

Caleb hung his head in shame wishing that the rift would just close.

“I suppose so,” the incubus admitted. “But, like I was saying earlier, we all know that this one is pathetic.”

Jester nodded. “Okay, now would one of you read from Trent’s contract the third paragraph on the 87th page? It’s about half way down the page.”

The great demon lord waved at the incubus, who grabbed the contract from Caleb roughly. “Ridiculous,” the incubus muttered under his breath. He flipped to the proper page and began to read, “Concerning the monk Caleb Widogast?” Jester nodded for him to go on. “Alright, ‘Concerning the monk Caleb Widogast, his soul must be signed over for all opportunities promised to Trent Ikithon to be fulfilled. The following promises concerning the monk Caleb Widogast will be fulfilled before the monk Caleb Widogast has signed his contract: no other demon can go after him, he will be blind to demonic presences until he signs his contract, and he will not be able to read any contract connected to him. Furthermore, he will have no memory of the human realm once he signs. In case of-”

“That’s enough,” Jester said. “So, is it just me or is making someone unable to read their contracts cheating?”

“Oh, it is,” said the great demon lord. His voice was like the grating two chunks of pumice together. It made Caleb tremble and Jester looked like she was going to be ill. But not as ill as Master Ikithon. He looked absolutely terrified. The great demon lord on the other hand looked all too pleased like an infernal hellbeast with a mouth full of canary. “And we all know what happens to those who are caught cheating?”

Master Ikithon paled. “I wasn’t the one who wrote it that. It was Mest-” The great demon lord snapped and Master Ikithon’s mouth closed and it appeared that he could not open it again. The rest of the demons looked towards the great lord with great anticipation. He nodded slowly and the demons pounced upon Master Ikithon dragging him away. With another snap from the the great lord, Master Ikithon’s mouth could open again and terrible screams filled the air.

“Um, so what happens to Caleb?” Jester asked.

The great demon lord looked down at Caleb. “Stand.” 

Caleb obeyed clumsily and stood up with a bit of a stumble. “Yes, sir.” He still kept his eyes respectfully downwards.

“We’ve never had a situation like this before, but we stick with our rules. And the rules are these; both parties must know what is being agreed upon. Come to me,” the great demon lord ordered.

Caleb winced and walked up to the great lord. Every part of him screamed to run away, but his fear froze him in place. The great demon lord tapped Caleb’s forehead with a blackened claw and then everything was white hot pain for Caleb. He fell to the ground.

And he remembered. He remembered his parents’ names. He remembered his first day as a monk. He remembered signing the contract. “I didn’t know that demons exist. I thought I was just signing to become a servant in Lord’s Ikithon’s manor. I didn’t know I would become a demon.”

“Then the contract is null and void,” the great demon lord said. He then lunged forward and reached his hand into Caleb’s chest. The great demon lord yanked his hand out holding a strange mass of blobbish red and swirling black.

Caleb felt good for the first time in centuries. And then he collapsed.

**************************

Jester screamed as Caleb fell. “What happens to him now? Is he okay?”

“That is none of my concern,” said the last of the terrible monsters. It snapped it’s fingers and the rift closed.

“No, no,” she whispered to herself. All she wanted to do was help Caleb maybe even save him if he could be saved, but instead she probably just made things worse for him. Jester sat down at the end of her bed her eyes full of tears. She tried to hold them back, but she end up crying anyways with big fat messy tears running down her face. 

A hand rested on her shoulder and someone said something gently in Zemnian. In a panic, Jester jumped off the bed and turned to see who it was that snuck into her room. “Caleb,” she gasped. But there was something different about him. All the details were the same: same blue eyes, same reddish hair, same pale skin, and same scrawniness. There just a different feel to him now.

“Ja,” Caleb said and proceeded to speak very quickly in Zemnian.

“I don’t understand you,” Jester said.

He frowned and tried again. “I forgot that everything I said was instantly translated when I was a demon.” His Zemnian accent was much thicker now and he sounded more like he did when telling Jester the directions to her father.

“Wait, when you were a demon?”

Caleb nodded and, for the first time, a true smile was on his face. “I’m human again.”

“You’re what?” Her heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t believe that she heard him right.

“I’m human,” Caleb said. He gently grabbed her hand. “And it’s all thanks to you.” Caleb kissed her on the forehead.

“Are you sure?” Jester asked.

Caleb nodded. “I’ve been human before. I know what it feels like. And this,” he kissed her hand, “feels very human.” His smile faded though and his face was painted with concern.

“What’s wrong?”

Caleb looked down. “Frumpkin and Nott. I’ve abandoned them.”

“I’m sorry,” Jester said. She was so happy for Caleb she had completely forgotten about Nott and Frumpkin. “I know you love them.”

“Do I?” Caleb asked pausing to think. “I think you’re right. I haven’t thought about being able to love in centuries. And I left them.”

“Not on purpose. I didn’t know what would happen,” Jester said. 

Caleb tried to smile again but it was weak and faint. He could never be truly happy without Nott or Frumpkin. “It’s not your fault. Even this is more than I could’ve asked for.”

A snore came from the other side of the bed. Jester cautiously approached it to find a small girl asleep curled up with a bengal cat. The girl had black, scraggly hair and seemed to share some features with Caleb. As for the cat - “Frumpkin?”

Caleb was next to Jester in a flash. The cat opened an eye and mewed before closing it again. The former demon pushed the hair out of the girl’s face to get a better look out her. “Nott?”

The girl stirred. “Five more minutes, Caleb.” 

Caleb scooped up Nott and Frumpkin and hugged them close to him. Nott struggled sleepily against him but settled into his arms after a moment. He held them silently for what felt like several minutes, but Jester would’ve never rushed him. Tears shined in his eyes when he finally looked up at her. “You saved them. I, you, you saved them.”

“I jus-” Jester was interrupted by the impact of Caleb’s mouth on hers. It was clumsy and more chaste than she would’ve liked and Jester wasn’t sure where to put her hands, but it didn’t feel uncomfortable. 

Caleb pulled away. “Thank you.” And it was like he had volumes he wanted to say, but he didn’t know how and maybe that was the reason behind the kiss. “You saved them.”

“How?” Jester asked. “I mean I’m glad I did, but I don’t know what I did for them.”

“I believe it is because I created both of them, so they’re attached to me. No one in the demon realms probably wanted to deal with them. They’re not worth much.” But the way Caleb looked down at the sleeping pair in his arms was like they were worth more than their weight in diamonds.

“Maybe we should tuck them in and let them sleep,” Jester said. Caleb looked horrified at the idea of leaving them. “Or maybe we can tuck them in and you can stay with them. I don’t think you’re scrawny arms are that comfortable.”

It took a moment for Caleb to agree, and by the time they got Nott settled in the bed, he was starting to nod off too. Becoming human must’ve taken a lot out of a demon. Jester tucked in both of them and set Frumpkin above the blankets. She pressed a soft kiss on Nott’s forehead just like Jester’s mom used to do when she tucked her in. Without a thought, Jester kissed Caleb’s forehead too. Right afterwards, he sat up just enough to reach her and kissed her on the mouth one more time. It was as gentle as a breath. “Thank you,” he whispered before dropping back asleep.

Jester snuck out of her room closing the door softly behind her. A bright blush was spread across her face, but she couldn’t help but smile. It was probably going to take a lot of work convince Beau to let them stay and after that teach Caleb and Nott how to be human and blend in. But with the way Caleb said thank you, it was going to be more than worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's been a wild ride I think. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next comes the epilogue.
> 
> Thanks to tfwfangirlsatk for betaing!


	10. Chapter 10

Jester straightened Caleb’s cardigan one more time. “Are you sure you don’t want me to go to Zadash with you?” Caleb asked.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Jester said. She took a step back and looked over Caleb again. “Besides, it’s your first day of work. You can’t miss that.”

Caleb frowned. “I guess not, but what if something happens?”

“To me or to you? ‘Cause I've got Beau with me and Molly promised to keep an eye on you and Nott.” After Caleb had became human, Molly remembered about Caleb and Nott. There was a time where Caleb could explain why the memory wipe had happened in the first place and why it was undone, but more and more Caleb was forgetting the details of being a demon (and more and more he found that he didn’t miss it at all). 

“You said that this started with me, so it should end with me too,” Caleb said.

Jester chuckled and kissed Caleb’s forehead. “You already tried to use that one on me already. Meeting my dad’s no longer an ending. You’re here for good, and who knows, maybe this is a new start with my dad.”

Caleb grabbed her hand. “I’ll miss you.” Since he had been human this would be the longest they’d be apart. He and Nott were now seen as a permanent fixture of Beau and Jester’s house and turned the creepy unfinished basement into something resembling a living space.

“Oh, Caleb.” She kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll miss you too. Now, you’re going to go out there and be a super librarian.” 

“I’m just an assistant,” he said, but he couldn’t help but smile. They had all worked hard the last six months to get Caleb to the point where he could have a job. Jester and Molly trained him on how to interact with people while Caleb was taking online classes (Jester said that her proudest moment was when Caleb was able to use the computer for an hour without asking for her help). Even Beau helped by getting Caleb and Nott fake IDs and paperwork (no one dared to ask how she got them). The story they gave her was that Caleb was once part of a crime family against his will and Jester had helped him get out of it and was also helping him get back on his feet.

Jester smiled anyways, “Still that’s nothing to frown at. Molly’s picking Nott up from school, so you don’t have to worry about her.” Despite the fact that Nott had been a centuries old imp, it didn’t change the fact that now she had the body of a nine year-old child and had to go to school (Nott was very bitter about this fact).

Caleb wanted to argue more to make her stay or at least wait for him to join, but he knew that there was no point in arguing with his girlfriend. She had stared down an entire council of demons for him - Jester was unstoppable. There was nothing he could say to her, so he just kissed her.

She wrapped her arms around him and kissed back. “What was that for?”

“Thank you.” There would never be enough words in all the human and infernal languages combined to describe how grateful he was or how much he loved her. But that was what kissing was for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! IT'S OVER!!!! Just like dang guys! This is my most popular fic and I just have to thank you guys for sticking around for so long. I loved all the comments and kudos and support. I wouldn't have been able to do without you guys. I also wouldn't have been able to do that without my beta tfwfangirlsatk.


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